Stranger Than Fiction
by Bearfield003
Summary: Could everything that has happened really be a dream? A world without BOW's? Is that even possible? *Chris Redfield Fanfiction*


**Disclaimer: All Resident evil characters belong to Capcom.**

 ***Spoiler* This is a short oneshot has spoilers for the manga and RE6**

"He's waking up…"

"No way?"

"Yeah… Hey?"

"You're right!"

"Hey… can you hear me?"

Chris' blue eyes flutter open, the sun breaking through his long eyelashes as he tries to see what's going on.

 _Who's talking?_

The voice is familiar. He knows it so well. But it's like he forgot it. Like he should know the voice, but yet his mind cannot piece together who it belongs to. The voice also brings with it a feeling of guilt.

His eyes part too slowly for Chris' liking, but he can't seem to open them much faster. The sun is out in the sky, the lights blinding him for a second before his eyes adjust. He can hear the birds outside, singing their tone peacefully. There is a gentle breeze that ruffles his hair and brushes his forehead.

"Hey there, sleepy head." A soft voice cooes.

Blue eyes finally focus, and they widen when they land on Merah. She can't be here. She died in that school, in the Marhawa Desire incident. She saved Piers from that BOW. The thing going through her. She's… she's supposed to be...

The young girl is smiling down at him, one hand stretched out and soothingly brushing the bangs off his forehead. "I'm glad to see you're awake."

"It's been too long." Another voice says.

Chris' lips part. It can't be him…

"Piers?"

He died in the underwater facility. Injected himself with the C-virus in a last resort to save him. He stayed behind and… he hasn't heard from him since then. Hasn't seen him. They searched and searched, and he was never found.

"Yeah it's me, Chris." Piers greets with a smile, moving closer and placing a hand over Chris' forearm. Not captain, _Chris_. "It's been a while."

"Am I… dead?"

Piers chuckles, as Merah gives him a sidelong glance. "No. You're more alive than ever." Piers states with a nod. "It's been too long."

"Did you call Claire?" Piers asks, his attention moving to Merah.

"The moment he was stirring. She's with Barry and Moira, and they are heading this way now. She'll inform _them_ so they can also come." She says with a small smile. "She'll be so happy to see him." She states with a smile, her brown eyes once again returning to Chris. "How are you feeling?" She asks, the smile on her face not leaving her lips.

Chris' lips are moving before he can even think, his mind racing too quickly for anything else to catch up. Piers and Merah are alive, Claire is coming, and where is he? "I'm fine." He says his eyes taking in the room.

It's plain. White walls, white floors, and a few mechanical things making repeated beeps. It takes Chris a second to notice he is is in a hospital room. _Why is he here?_

"Am I in a hospital?" Chris asks, blue eyes drifting towards Merah, then Piers.

The latter nods, while Merah verbally confirms it. "Do you remember what happened?" She asks.

Before Chris could answer, the door opens, a man in a long white coat and dressed all in black steps into the room. He's wearing dark shades, a clipboard on his hands, and blonde hair slicked back, not one hair out of place.

Chris' entire body tenses, his eyes widening as he takes in the man's presence. He's supposed to be dead!

Merah looks back at the man who entered the room, a smile taking her lips. _Why is she smiling at him?_ Chris' heart is beating so fast, he can hear it, or maybe because he can. The heart monitor is detecting the pace of his rhythm.

"Calm down Redfield. You just woke up." His accented voice tries to calm the man.

"Wesker?" Chris says the tyrant's name, his fingers digging into the mattress underneath him. He feels so defenseless not having a weapon on him to be able to defend himself against the tyrant.

The blonde man makes an approving noise at the back of his throat as he nods. "At least it seems you're not suffering from memory lost." Wesker says. "I'm glad you were able to remember who I am, even though you were losing consciousness so quickly."

 _How and why would he forget this monster's face? He was the cause of so many deaths. His nightmares. The reason his life turned to a never ending battle against Bio-Organic weapon. But on top of that, why are Merah and Piers not trying to shoot him. Why is Wesker not trying to kill him?_

"Don't come any closer." Chris says, while trying to push his body up, but he feels weak, like he hasn't moved a muscle in a long time, and he ends up falling back on the bed.

"Chris?" Merah's face comes into view. "He's your doctor."

Piers is on his other side, making sure Chris doesn't fall off the bed. His expression shows concern as he looks from Merah to Wesker. With gentle hands, the Ace helps Chris lay back down, telling him to not move so much.

"Doctor?" Chris echoes, feeling even more confused. He knows Wesker was a scientist, but doctor? That can't be right. Wesker wants to destroy the world- make himself a God, not help anyone who is lower than himself, but control them.

Piers nods his head. "You were in a coma for about 7 years." Hazel eyes shift away. "It's been hard." he says almost in a whisper.

Chris' eyes widen before they snap towards Piers. _7 years!_

"It was bad…" Merah speaks up, her eyes taking a sad distant look to them as she recalls the day. Looking up at Chris, she tries to smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes, not when Chris can read the pain behind them. "The jet you were piloting… there was a problem. And it went down. You looked so bad. Bleeding so much. You weren't going to pull through…"

"The doctors weren't sure if you were going to make it." Piers speaks up. "But they took the chance anyways… But after the surgery you wouldn't wake up. You fell into a coma." Piers states, his eyes also mirroring Merah's eyes.

Chris shakes his head, as he tries to let the words sink in. "What?" _This can't be true?_ Chris looks down at his hands, not recognizing them one bit. They are smaller than what he remembers them to be, and he's thin. Even more so than when he was in S.T.A.R.S. There are no scars, or bruises, or how messed up his hand looked after he punched that boulder into the Lava to save Sheva. If anything, his hands look clean, as if he never worked a day in his life.

It's the sudden cold touch that has Chris almost jump out of his skin. Wesker is close to him, the closest he has ever been, and is looking into his eyes. "Don't move." He says in the voice Chris regonies so much.

A part of Chris wants to say, 'Screw you!' and jump off the bed and run off, and try and find out what the hell is going on. But the other part wants to listen, and it seems that's what he does, too confused to do much of anything else.

"Reflexes are good." Wesker says while shining a light into Chris' blue eyes. Pulling away, Wesker continues. "I'll return. I have to get the rest of my equipment,"

"Sure thing, doc." Merah says with a nod. Her eyes return to Chris, and without any warning she leans over and hugs him tight. "I'm so glad you're finally awake. I thought I would never see those dark blue eyes again."

Piers smiles, "Yeah, same here."

Chris' cheeks burn as she let's go. "I…" He's not sure what to say, so his eyes end up wondering about the room until they land on the small object resting on the desk. A small teddy-bear Panda.

"Sherry brought it in." Piers supplies when he reads Chris' expression, or maybe the fact that Chris stared at if for such a long time.

"Sherry?"

"Oh, right. You weren't conscious to meet her. Sherry's the daughter of one of the workers in the hospital. Claire met her after what that happened to you. She came to the hospital so many times to visit you. They got really close." He finishes explaining. "She brought it a few weeks ago. In July." Piers adds thoughtfully.

Chris nods. "I should probably thank her." He says with a small smile, his thoughts going to the Sherry he knows. Though he wonders if she would be the same Sherry…

"CHRIS!"

A voice squeals, which makes Chris' eyes snap up. His eyes widen when he sees Claire. It's his sister, but she looks **so** young. She's not the grown woman he has come to terms with over the years.

Claire runs across the room, and throws her arms around him, tears at the brim of her blue eyes. "You're awake!"

"Y-yeah." Chris tries to say, blinking as he looks at his sister. His head trying to wrap around the fact that Claire has de-aged- went back in time? _He's not sure what to call it._ "Claire, is that really you?"

"Of course, Chris. I did a lot of growing up since then." She tells Chris, as she leans back to be able to look into his eyes. "What? You think seven years wouldn't change me?" Claire can't stop smiling as she once again hugs her brother.

Chris winces, _was Claire always this strong?_ "H- How old are you now?" He can't help but ask, while Piers and Merah help Claire off him. She was killing him.

"19." She says with a bright smile.

"That means I'm…"

"25." Claire supplies. "Yeah, a lot of time passed." She says a little less happy before she looks up at Chris and perks up again. "But we can make up for lost time once you're cleared to go!"

Chris nods, feeling tongue tied. He has no idea what's going on, but at least that explains the mop of hair on his head. It's how he used to keep it when he was younger. Spiked up, but without any hairspray it would lay on his scalp like if it's oiled down.

Though now that he thinks about it, how is he 25 and Piers and Merah are this age. Piers looks 26, and Merah looks about the same age. It makes no sense- but what has since he woke up? Chris can't think on it much longer when he hears another voice call out to him.

"Redfield!" Barry steps into the room, a smile on his face. A small child holds onto Barry, black short hair with big brown eyes. It's Moira. Chris recognizes her, but he doesn't understand why she looks so young. They're ages are not adding up at all to Chris.

"Sorry I took so long. Claire practically jumped out the car when I was trying to park." He says while stepping into the room, the small girl holding his pants as she follows closely behind.

Even Barry looks younger. But he's glad to see the man, he looks healthy and well. However, he does look thicker than he was at that age, Chris can't help but note. From his age, Chris can guess he's in his thirties. "I'm really glad that you're awake." Barry says while standing behind Claire, his sister refusing to let anyone else closer by sitting in front of him and practically being on Chris. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused." Chris can't help but answer, though he has a feeling that question was more directed to his physical state.

He laughs. "I can guess… Piers and Merah are now Lieutenants. They continued for you. You guys are so closely knit. Claire, here, is in college now, and I… I couldn't keep flying after what happened to you. I decided to open up a local gun shop."

Piers takes out his badge, grabbing Chris' hand and placing it in it. "Yeah. I got this for you. You were the only one telling me continue sniping- that I would get good at it, even though I sucked… but now I'm ranked as the number one sniper. I had to do it for you." Piers says with a smile.

Chris looks at the badge in his hand, feeling his chest tighten at the sight of it. It reminds him too much of China, when Piers gave him the BSAA logo on his shoulder.

"There is someone I want you to meet, Chris. I called him to come over." Claire says with a nod, her eyes going to the door. Standing there is blonde teenager, no older than 21, blond hair combed over the side of his face, and a skinny physique.

"This is Leon." She introduces, making a gesture with her hand for Leon to step into the room. "He came with me each time I came to visit you. Met him in high school, and he's with me in college." Claire finishes while looking at her older brother.

Chris doesn't need an introduction for Leon. He's known Leon for a long time now. He's the man who saved Claire when Raccoon city went to hell. He's also the same man who contacted him, informing him that Claire was in Rockfort Island. He knows who Leon is. But this Leon… he's different. Much thinner and younger, like he never lifted a weight in his life.

"Leon S. Kennedy." the blonde man says while outstretching his hand towards Chris. Claire moves enough for Chris to greet him.

"Chris Redfield." he says dumbly, as if the man doesn't know who he is already. After all, he's been visiting with Claire for a while now.

"I'm glad to see you alive. Claire would have been devastated if-"

"Leon, there is no need." Claire hisses, making Leon bite his bottom lip as if he said something he shouldn't have. Her eyes return to her brother. "You'll find out early on that Leon can see the weirdest one liners at the worst of times." She says with a small giggle and small blush taking her cheeks.

This of course does not go unnoticed to Chris- making him wonder if maybe Claire and Leon have something in this universe. He's not sure how he should feel about that. It's not like he never liked Leon, but he can't say he liked the man the moment he met him.

"Is he really awake!?"

"Jill?"

She has the same face, brown hair cut short, blue eyes much brighter than what the years of fighting Bioterrorism have done to her, and her skin darker, not pale from the countless experiment she had to withstand under Wesker… his apparent doctor.

The brunette stumbles in, her eyes watering as she makes her way to Chris' side. "You jerk! What took you so long?!" She asks, while wrapping her arms around the man. Claire actually moving enough for another person to squeeze through and touch Chris.

"Jill?" He asks confused, while looking into her bright blue eyes. It has been too long since he's last seen them. They are beautiful.

"I can't believe you left me for this long, you oaf." She says teasing, while she looks into his eyes. "I'm so happy you're awake. I've missed you so much." She can't help but hug him once again, almost squeezing him to death. "Gush, you're so thin now." She complains while releasing her grip.

Claire laughs. "Yeah, so don't kill him with one of your monstrous hugs." She says jokingly.

"Never." Jill says, the smile on her face widening. "Oh!" Jill says as if she remembers something before she turns to face Chris. "Sheva went off to college in Africa with her uncle Josh. I thought you might have wanted to know, since you two were so close. I have to call her. I'm sure she will take the first flight down here when she hears you're awake."

"We were close?"

Jill furrows her brow. "You don't remember Sheva?" She asks, worry eyes looking at Chris hard.

Chris wants to say yes but not this Sheva. The one he knows is also in Africa, still fighting in the BSAA against BOW's. But he can't worry Jill, he never liked to do that to her. "Sheva Alomar." Chris says a little more reassuringly.

"Yes!" Jill says, all worry gone. "You scared me. We all hanged out together. I'm glad you were able to remember her. She would have been upset if you forgot only her."

Chris nods as he tries to understand what is happening.

 _Was his entire life an induce nightmare? Was nothing real? Then why is it that he remembers these people, not as they are now, but the one's in his dream? Claire, he was able to see her older, mature. And Jill. She looks the same from S.T.A.R.S days, but he saw her aging, growing up into a strong partner. Was that all really some dream? S.T.A.R.S? The BSAA? BOW? Everything he has been fighting for? All of it was just a dream produced from his unconscious mind?_

Chris refuses to believe that. _What if_ _ **this**_ _world is just a dream? Like his other world, it feels real. This could be a realistic dream. What's the last thing he remembers? He got home from a long day at work, drank a few bottles, then passed out on the couch, He really needs to quit drinking. This can't be real. He saw so many of them die right in front of him. Faces he thought he would never see again are right now looking at him with smiles too big to fit their faces. The youthful, full of life that has left the eyes of so many around him, like himself, is back, and more so when they look at him. After all that he went through, caused, Chris never thought anyone would look at him that way again._

 _Could this really be a dream?_

"Christopher?"

The young man's eyes widen, his heart skipping a beat. It can't be… a voice he thought he would never hear again. It's been over twenty years, and yet that voice never left him. He recognizes it. How can he not? His heart is pounding so hard he can' hear anything else as he looks towards the door.

Standing there is a woman with bright brown hair, that looks red when the sun shines on it, her skin a honey tan, like his, and light blue eyes like Claire's. Next to her stands a man with curly dark brown hair, pale skin and dark blue eyes that look too much like his.

"Mom… dad?" The words slip out of his mouth, the words feeling too foreign to him. He never thought he would see them again. His heart skips a beat, as he tries to take in the two people standing by the door.

"Chris-!" Chris' mother runs into the room, throwing her arms around her child. "I… I thought I would lose you!"

Blue eyes are wide, not sure what to do. His muscles are stiff, as he stares ahead. His mind drawing blank. His parents are alive… they are alive… how!?

It's the added weight that has Chris snap back to reality. His father has wrapped his arms around both his mother and him.

Chris feels something heavy form in his throat, and his eyes sting. _It's too much… too much to take in._ Chris feels his chest heave, as he tries to breath, but he can't hold back his emotions anymore.

 _It's just too much._

Broken sobs shake his body as he clings to his mother's arm. He cries for the first time in such a long time. The tears won't stop and he can't stop wailing like a child who is hurt and needs his mother's comfort. Having them so close like this hurts so much. It hurts…

 _He doesn't want to wake up. If this is a dream, he wants to stay here forever._

 **Thank you for reading!**


End file.
